Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
During the iconic Week Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav from 14-20 March, the Department of Consumer Affairs organized Rural outreach programmes in 90 villages in 23 States / UTs to create consumer awareness
“Fair Digital Finance” was the theme for the World Consumer Rights Day on 15th March, this year
On world Consumer Rights Day, Shri Piyush Goyal asked consumers to demand high quality products so that India can become a world leader in goods and services
Department of Consumer Affairs organized “Consumer Empowerment Week” from 14th to 20th March, 2022 to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of progressive India and the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The celebrations coincided with the World Consumer Rights Day, which falls on 15th March.
On the opening day of the celebration, field units of organizations under the Department i.e., Bureau of Indian Standards , Indian Institute of Legal Metrology  Ranchi, National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited , National Test House  and Regional Reference Standards Laboratories  organized consumer awareness programmes in 90 villages of 23 States / UTs. This was a first of its kind initiative by the Department. These programmes created awareness about salient features of Consumer Protection Act 2019, Indian Standard marks, Hallmark, CRS mark, details to be seen on pre-packaged commodities, use of proper weights and measures and use of National Consumer Helpline  for lodging consumer complaints. These programmes were attended by large number of rural people. These events were attended by a large number of participants. In some instances, members of local administration and other influencers also attended the programmes. These programmes were given coverage by local media in many cases. A month-long quiz competition was also launched on MyGov to raise awareness on consumer rights and initiatives undertaken by the Department.
On 15th March, 2022, the Department celebrated World Consumer Rights Day. An event was organized in New Delhi and the theme was “Fair Digital Finance”. The event was attended by Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce, Food and Public Distribution, Textiles, and Commerce & Industry. Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Ms Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Rural Development; Mr Justice R. K. Agarwal, President of National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ; Shri Nandan Nilekani, Non-Executive Chairman of Infosys, and other dignitaries also attended the event. Shri Rohit Kumar Singh, Secrtary; Ms Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary; Shri G. Srinivas, Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor; and other senior officers of the Department and its organizations also attended the event.
Speaking at the event, Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Textiles, and Commerce & Industry, said effective enforcement of laws is necessary to protect consumer interest and encourage high-quality products and services, but legal provisions should not be used to harass small businessmen and traders. He also flagged the issue the need to decriminalize of certain provisions of Legal Metrology Act and lauded the initiative taken by various authorities to protect the interests and rights of consumers, but he also urged all the stakeholders to deliberate on the issue of decriminalization. Shri Goyal shared instances of actions being taken by the Department of Consumer Affairs against misleading advertisements. He said that action was taken against a Toothpaste company claiming to be World’s No. 1. Similar action was taken against another company claiming to have sold out the stock within no time. Shri Goyal also talked about the Quality Standardisation work being undertaken by the Bureau of Indian Standards  mentioning that hallmarking has provided consumers with the long-due right to Quality, Purity & transparency. Taking the message of Prime Minister Shi Narendra Modi ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Prayas’ forward he urged all the state governments, industry associations and other stakeholders to put forth their best efforts in bringing a balance between allowing genuine business opportunities while taking stringent action against unfair business practices which are detrimental to consumer protection and tries to circumvent the existing law. He also highlighted that business should support new policy decisions which are aimed at furthering consumer protection and requested them to constructively work with government to create holistic environment for business as well as consumer protection. He further emphasized that Consumers need to be more aware, should demand quality products and thereby endeavor to make India a world leader in providing high quality product and services. While applauding the progress of e –daakhil portal which enables online filing of consumer complaints and urged the authorities to facilitate virtual hearings in all cases, he expressed concern over number of vacant positions in various State and District Consumer Commissions and the fact that Supreme Court had to intervene. He urged all the State Governments to fill up their vacancies at the earliest.
The Chief Guest for the event, Shri Nandan Nilekani pressed on the need for changing with the changing digital platforms and highlighted that with the increasing complex digital protocols, one has to be prepared for more complex consumer redressal methods which requires a wholesome approach by the Government. In this regard, he highlighted the need to redesign the consumer dispute redressal mechanism taking into consideration Artificial Intelligence and making use of speech to speech, speech to text and text to speech open platforms to make the online dispute resolution mechanism available in multi lingual format. He highlighted that, today’s digital transactions are multi party and hence resolution of such disputes have multi party requirement. With growth in scale and speed of Digital finance in a never seen like before pace, India should usher a new era of consumer redressal and make sure that every Indian gets access to easy consumer redressal.
The Minister of State for Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Rural Development Ms Sadhvi Nirajan Jyoti in her keynote address underlined that digital technology and new business models are completely changing our ability to reach poor and excluded households with financial services. Government has always strived to bring greater financial inclusion and this is well reflected in the increase in transactions through UPI to recipients of various Covid relief programs. She urged that combined efforts should be made in making digital finance, more sound, safe and secure for consumers.
The Minister of State for Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution & Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in his key note address stressed on need for innovative regulatory approaches and digital financial services and products that centre consumer protection and empowerment. He observed that Digital finance provides more accessible and affordable services to consumers and kept business alive during pandemic, however, also exposes consumers to new risks that have the potential to adversely impact the trust of consumers, destabilize financial markets, and discourage uptake and usage of digital financial services eroding the gains made in financial inclusion. Therefore, it is vital to have strategic regulation and timely intervention which reflects better consumer protection in expanding horizon of digital finance.
The Minister of State for Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Rural Development Ms Sadhvi Nirajan Jyoti and Minister of State for Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution & Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey inaugurated virtual exhibition, created by the Department as a part of its celebrations under ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. This virtual exhibition displays the evolution and the work being done by the three scientific organizations – Bureau of Indian Standards , National Test House  and Regional Reference Standards Laboratories  - for protection and promotion of consumer rights.
President NCDRC Hon’ble Mr. Justice, R. K. Agrawal in his keynote address highlighted the paradigm shift in technological advancements that world has seen in the global era of digitization. He stressed that Digital Financial Services has become a vital tool for increasing productivity, reach, financial inclusion as well as efficiency – not for individuals and corporates alone, but for a country as a whole. President, NCDRC concluded his keynote address highlighting the need for Financial Regulators, Telecom Operators and Central Payment System Authority to ensure best risk management for all consumers.
The Ministers also congratulated winners of essay competition organized by National Law University Delhi, in association with Department of Consumer Affairs and Inter School online painting competition organized by FICCI Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy  in association with Department of Consumer Affairs as a part of celebration of World Consumer Rights Day 2022. 4 books on consumer laws were also released on the occasion.
A panel discussion on “Fair Digital Finance” was held. It was chaired by Shri Anurag Jain, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, chaired the panel discussion. Subsequently, a technical session was held to discuss the way forward in addressing the issue of delays in Consumer Commissions. The session was chaired by Ms Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs. Later, a technical session was held to discuss the way forward in e-filing as a hassle free and speedy grievance redressal mechanism. The session was chaired by Prof  V Vijayakumar, Vice Chancellor, National Law University Bhopal. The last technical session of the day focused the way forward in popularising mediation as a pre-litigation measure in the redressal of consumer complaints. The session was chaired by Shri Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Vice Chancellor, National Law University Bangalore. These sessions saw participation of speakers from diverse fields – State and District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions, RBI, MeitY, NPCI, SBI, State Governments, private sector, civil society, academicians and industry bodies.
Department of Consumer Affairs in collaboration with Invest India organized a 2-day seminar on E-Commerce and the Digital Consumer on 16th and 17th March, 2022. A series of panel discussions were conducted in association with the Internet and Mobile Association of India , bringing together key players from 8 core segments of e-commerce in India, in line with the Governments efforts towards consumer protection and ease of doing business. These discussions were spread across various segments of e-commerce, including beauty, health & wellness; food retail & FMCG; entertainment & education; and online payments. The event brought together government officials from the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Department of Financial services, as well as UIDAI. Industry leaders from the likes of Hindustan Unilever, Netmeds, Reliance Retail, ITC Ltd., Marico, Big Basket, Swiggy, Hungama, Netflix, Unacademy, Disney, PayTM, Visa, Amazon etc, as well as key consumer rights and consumer assistance bodies shared their views on the growing e-commerce market in India and the importance of consumer protection.
Shri Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, highlighted the importance of consumer awareness and the changing nature of the marketplace with the entry of a large number of new internet consumers. He also stated the importance of enabling the digital consumer with the right information. Ms Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, talked about the evolution of e-commerce in India and highlighted the need for self-regulatory mechanisms for consumer protection. Ms Shruti Chandra, Senior Assistant Vice President, Invest India spoke about the immense growth potential of the e-commerce market and how the new age of digital India has rapidly bridged the gap between rural and urban India. She also stated the importance of trust in the integrity and fairness of digital markets for the modern consumer.
The field units of Bureau of Indian Standards , Indian Institute of Legal Metrology  Ranchi, National Test House  and Regional Reference Standards Laboratories  organized various activities during the week. For example, visits of students and general public were organized to the labs of these oganisations to make them aware of the available testing facilities and demonstrating some of the tests. Counters were set up in various places and leaflets were distributed to create awareness on consumer rights. Water testing was demonstrated at various places. Meetings with general public, Government bodies, industry and health workers were organized so that a wide gamut of stakeholders may be made aware of the issues which concern the consumers. Nukkad Natak and cleanliness drive were organized to create consumer awareness. These events were attended by a large number of participants. In some instances, members of local administration and other influencers also attended the programmes. The events were given coverage by local media in many cases.